Grip for sports gear

ABSTRACT

A grip is disclosed for a handle of a sports gear such as a golf club, a badminton racket and a tennis racket. The grip includes a strip, a ring and a cap. The strip is located around and adhered to the handle. The strip includes a first transverse edge, a second transverse edge opposite to the first transverse edge and two longitudinal edges adhered to each other. The ring is located around the handle in order to cover the first transverse edge. The cap is located at the tip of the handle in order to cover the second transverse edge.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a grip for sports gear such as a club and a racket.

2. Related Prior Art

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,857,971, there is disclosed a single-panel golf club grip G consisting of a sleeve U and a panel S wound around and adhered to the sleeve U. The sleeve U is generally made of rubber or plastics. The sleeve U is located around a shaft 92 of a golf club GC or a putter P. The panel S generally consists of a felt layer 62 provided around the sleeve U and a polyurethane layer 60 provided around the felt layer 62.

However, problems have been encountered in using the grip G. For one thing, the sleeve U serves no other purposes except providing a surface to which the panel S can be adhered. For another, the sleeve U made of rubber or plastics is heavier than the panel S consisting of the polyurethane layer 60 and the felt layer 62. Therefore, the grip G comes short of a light grip.

The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in prior art.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, a grip is disclosed for a handle of a sports gear such as a golf club, a badminton racket and a tennis racket. The grip includes a strip, a ring and a cap. The strip is located around and adhered to the handle. The strip includes a first transverse edge, a second transverse edge opposite to the first transverse edge and two longitudinal edges adhered to each other. The ring is located around the handle in order to cover the first transverse edge. The cap is located at the tip of the handle in order to cover the second transverse edge.

An advantage of the grip of the present invention is that it weighs only a little.

Another advantage of the grip of the present invention is that it is firmly attached to the handle for the use of the ring and the cap.

Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description referring to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described through illustration of three embodiments referring to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a grip according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the grip shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the grip taken along a line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the grip taken along a line 4-4 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view of the grip before a panel is located around a club or a racket as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a golf club using the grip shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a badminton racket using the grip shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the grip taken along a line 8-8 in FIG. 7

FIG. 9 is a front view of a tennis racket using the grip shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a grip according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a grip according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the grip taken along a line 12-12 in FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a grip 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The grip 1 consists of a strip 10, a ring 20 and a cap 30.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the strip 10 is located around a handle 2 of a club or a racket in order to provide a comfortable feel and firm grip. The strip 10 is a rectangular layer including a first transverse edge 11, a second transverse edge 12 opposite to the first transverse edge 11 and two longitudinal edges 13 between the transverse edges 11 and 12. The terms “transverse” and “longitudinal” are given based on the handle 2. The strip 10 can be made of leather, artificial leather, polyurethane, fabric, fibers or felt. The strip 10 is adhered to a handle 2 by means of glue or adhesive.

The ring 20 is located around the handle 2 in order to cover the first transverse edge 11 of the strip 10. The ring 20 is adhered to the handle 2 by means of glue or adhesive. The ring 20 includes an exterior in the form of a conical frustum and an interior defining a recess 21 for receiving the first transverse edge 11 of the strip 10. The ring 20 covers the first transverse edge 11 of the strip 10 so that the strip 10 will not be peeled from the handle 2. The ring 20 can be made of rubber, rubber compounds, soft plastics, TPE or TPR.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the longitudinal edges 13 are adhered to each other by means of glue or adhesive. Although couched “edges”, the longitudinal edges 13 are in fact narrow surfaces. Each of the slender surfaces is an inclined surface 131 in order to provide an adequate area for contact and adhesion. Thus, the adhesion exhibits an adequate strength. Thus, the strip 10 will be not peeled from the handle 2.

The cap 30 is located at the tip of the handle 2 in order to cover the second transverse edge 12 of the strip 10. The cap 30 defines a recess 31 for receiving the second transverse edge 12 of the strip 10. Thus, the strip 10 will not be peeled from the handle 2.

The grip 1 may be used in a golf club referring to FIG. 6, a badminton racket referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, or a tennis racket referring to FIG. 9. In each case, the strip 10 is flexible so that it can be located around the handle 2 in various cross-sectional profiles. The grip 1 sticks to the handle 2 firmly, provides a comfortable feel and firm grip, and weighs only a little for omitting the sleeve used in the prior art.

Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown a grip according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is identical to the first embodiment except that each of the longitudinal edges 13 of the strip 10 is formed as a wave-like surface 132 in order to provide a large area for contact and adhesion.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, there is shown a grip according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment is identical to the first embodiment except two things. Firstly, each of the longitudinal edges 13 of the strip 10 defines a groove 133. When the inclined surfaces 131 are adhered to each other, the grooves 133 together make a composite groove. Secondly, an elongated tape 14 is located in the composite groove. The elongated tape 14 is adhered to two elongated portions of the strip 10 along the longitudinal edges 13. The elongated tape 14 can be made of polyurethane, TPU, PVC or any other proper materials. The elongated tap 14 is flush with the strip 10. Like the first embodiment, the second embodiment provides a comfortable feel and firm grip and weighs only a little.

The grip of the present invention exhibits several advantages.

Firstly, it weighs only a little for not including the sleeve used in the prior art.

Secondly, it is firmly attached to the handle 2 for the use of the ring and the cap.

Thirdly, it is firmly attached to the handle 2 because the edges 13 of the strip 10 are firmly adhered to each other for including the inclined surfaces 131, the wave-like surfaces 132 or the tape 14.

The present invention has been described through the illustration of the embodiments. Those skilled in the art can derive variations from the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments shall not limit the scope of the present invention defined in the claims. 

1. A grip for a handle of a sports gear, the grip comprising: a strip located around and adhered to the handle, the strip comprising a first transverse edge, a second transverse edge opposite to the first transverse edge and two longitudinal edges adhered to each other; and a ring located around the handle in order to cover the first transverse edge.
 2. The grip according to claim 1 wherein the strip comprises two inclined surfaces each along corresponding one of the longitudinal edges in order to provide a large area for contact.
 3. The grip according to claim 2 further comprising a tape for keeping the longitudinal edges adhered to each other, wherein the strip comprises two grooves each along corresponding one of the inclined surfaces so that the grooves make a composite groove for receiving the tape.
 4. The grip according to claim 1 wherein the strip comprises two wave-like surfaces each along corresponding one of the longitudinal edges in order to provide an large area for contact.
 5. The grip according to claim 1 further comprising a tape for keeping the longitudinal edges adhered to each other, wherein the strip comprises two grooves each along corresponding one of the longitudinal edges so that the grooves make a composite groove for receiving the tape.
 6. The grip according to claim 1 wherein the ring defines a recess in order to receive the first transverse edge.
 7. The grip according to claim 1 wherein the ring is in the form of a conical frustum.
 8. The grip according to claim 1 comprising a cap located at the tip of the handle in order to cover the second transverse edge of the strip.
 9. The grip according to claim 8 wherein the cap defines a recess for receiving the second transverse edge. 